The Daughter and the Stepdaughter

A widower with a daughter married a widow who also had a daughter, so now there were two stepsisters in the family. The stepmother was spiteful and gave the old…

A widower with a daughter married a widow who also had a daughter, so now there were two stepsisters in the family. The stepmother was spiteful and gave the old man no peace.

“Take your daughter to the forest, to the dugout hut! She’ll get more spinning done there.”

What could he do? The man obeyed his wife, took his daughter to the dugout and gave her a fire steel, a flint, some tinder and a little sack of groats. He said:

“Here’s what you need for a fire. Keep it burning, cook yourself porridge, sit and spin, and keep the hut’s door shut.”

Night came. The girl lit the little stove and put on some porridge. A mouse appeared from nowhere and said:

“Girl, girl, give me a spoonful of porridge.”

“Oh, my little mouse! Talk to me and ease my loneliness. I’ll give you more than one spoonful: I’ll feed you till you’re full.”

The mouse ate her fill and went away. During the night, a bear burst in.

“Come now, girl,” he said. “Put out the lights. Let’s play blind man’s buff.”

The mouse ran up onto the girl’s shoulder and whispered in her ear:

“Don’t be afraid, girl! Say, ‘Let’s!’ Then put out the fire and crawl under the stove. I’ll run about and ring the little bell.”

And so they did. The bear chased the mouse but could not catch her. He began roaring and throwing logs. He threw and threw but never hit her. At last he grew tired and said:

“You’re good at blind man’s buff, girl! For that, I’ll send you a herd of horses and a wagonload of goods in the morning.”

In the morning, the wife said:

“Go and see your daughter, old man. See how much she spun during the night.”

The old man went off, and the woman sat waiting for him to bring back her stepdaughter’s bones. Then the little dog barked:

“Yap, yap, yap! The daughter is coming with the old man, driving a herd of horses and bringing a wagonload of goods!”

“You’re lying, you little troublemaker! Those are bones clattering and rattling in a basket.”

Then the gates creaked, horses ran into the yard, and there were the daughter and her father sitting on a wagon, with the wagon full of goods! The woman’s eyes burned with greed.

“What’s so special about that?” she cried. “Take my daughter to the forest for the night. My daughter will bring back two herds of horses and two wagonloads of goods.”

The man took his wife’s daughter to the dugout too, providing her with food and fire-making things just as before. In the evening, she cooked porridge. The mouse came out and asked Natashka for some. But Natashka shouted:

“Look at that nasty little thing!” And she flung a spoon at her.

The mouse ran away, while Natashka tucked into the porridge alone. When she had finished, she put out the lights and curled up in a corner.

Midnight came. The bear burst in and said:

“Hey, where are you, girl? Let’s play blind man’s buff.”

The girl said nothing; her teeth only chattered with fear.

“Ah, there you are! Take this bell and run. I’ll try to catch you.”

She took the bell, but her hand shook and it rang without stopping. The mouse called out:

“The cruel girl won’t stay alive!”

In the morning, the woman sent the old man into the forest.

“Go! My daughter will bring back two wagonloads and two herds.”

The man went off, and the woman waited outside the gates. Then the little dog barked:

“Yap, yap, yap! The mistress’s daughter is coming, her bones rattling in a basket, while the old man sits on an empty wagon.”

“You’re lying, you little cur! My daughter is driving herds and bringing wagons.”

And there was the old man at the gate, handing his wife a basket. The woman opened it, saw the bones and began to wail. Her anger grew so fierce that she died of grief and rage the very next day. The old man and his daughter lived out their days happily and welcomed a distinguished son-in-law into their home.